David Ashdown's sports picture diary: Beijing Olympics - The Birds Nest

(DAVID ASHDOWN)

David Ashdown was in Beijing covering the 2008 Olympic Games

It's the first day of athletics and that's always a good point in the Olympics as it marks the half way point. It's the place I will be spending some part of each day and this shot shows the photographer's platform that will be rather more full tomorrow for the mens 100m final. This is also only the second day there has been no smog in the air and that the far end of the stadium has been visible. We all hope it stays like this because the quality of pictures taken on long focal length lens through smog become worse the further away you get. Maybe they can get some very big fans to blow it away if it comes back, or some rain to wash it away but then we would get wet, but that's a small price to pay for clear pictures!

Picture taken on a Nikon D3, 14mm lens, aperture F9.0, shutter speed 1/160th of a second